Bear attack survivor's urgent video to loved ones after animal 'ripped chunks' out of him
Warning: This article contains graphic images and video which some readers may find distressing.
A man has revealed what happened when he came face-to-face with a grizzly bear and the heartbreaking message he recorded for his loved ones, believing he may not make it.
On May 19 2024, Shayne Burke and Chloe Burke were up in the Tetons in Wyoming on an adventure trip for their honeymoon.
The newlyweds were fans of 'what's called a great gray owl', Burke told UNILAD, and so had done a 'little bit of research' to figure out where best to track one down.
Advert
Their research led them to Signal Mountain, the pair excited to see the new species of owl they'd yet to spot in the wild.
Burke, who works for the US Department of Defense, explained that around half a mile into a walk, his wife turned back to the car, but he kept going.
After an hour or so, he decided to end his hike and turned back to rejoin his wife.
After a quick look at his GPS, Burke realized there was a shortcut back through the woods. Eager to get back to his new wife, he decided to make a 'beeline'.
Unfortunately, it was a decision he soon came to regret.
Despite trying to make 'noise' to 'prevent an attack or situation' such as running into a bear, going too fast to fully see, Burke ended up stumbling upon - you guessed it - a grizzly bear cub.
"The cub was running away from me, my first response was to just take my bear spray out and get ready - just in case the mother was around," he said. "In the process of that happening, the mom made herself known, and she was only 15 feet at most away from me, and then it just all happened so fast."
'She went for my head'
Detailing the horrific attack and mauling that ensued, Burke said: "As soon as I kind of locked eyes with her, she was almost on top of me, and so that's when I reacted in the defensive way - which is, get on your belly and lay down on the ground and try to play dead.
"She tackled me, biting my shoulder, breaking it. Then she started ravaging my legs and just biting me, biting me, and it was like, you know, picking me up, throwing me - but she never ripped chunks out of me like she could have.
"So after a while, when she was biting my legs, she went for my head, and because I was laying like this [with his hands and arms covering his head], and I still had the bear spray in my hand, she ended up biting the bear spray, my hand and my arm, which is what stopped the attack, because she bit the can."
The can 'exploded' over the bear and Burke and prompted the mom bear to run off, unfortunately in the same direction he was meant to be going, forcing him to run the opposite way, further into the woods.
"You know, I had to crawl over fallen trees, under fallen trees, running straight up a hill," he added.
After the attack, uncertain of just how bad the damage was, Burke recorded a message to his loved ones. Watch it here:
Thankfully, the grizzly didn't hit any of the army reservist's arteries, so he concedes that he was 'super, super fortunate' in that respect, but he suffered a broken shoulder as well as a 'ton of real superficial, butt-deep wounds' - which miraculously weren't infected as he crawled away from the scene.
Not many people can say they endured a bear attack, and fewer can stake claim to having survived one.
Since the turn of the 21st century, 38 people have died at the paws of grizzlies in North America - six of those fatalities came in Wyoming, US, where Burke was visiting.
However, unlike others, the Massachusettsan was able to escape the ordeal with his life - and despite being mauled and thrown around by the beast, he remarkably was only bed-bound in hospital for one day before being discharged.
"So, how do you survive a bear attack?" I asked Burke.
Burke credits the 'biggest thing that contributed to his survival' was the fact he did his research and the parks do such a 'good job at informing visitors about the risks and how to react'.
He also praises having a deterrent with him.
"Even though I didn't use it in the most traditional sense - I don't recollect whether or not I got to spray it at all, but having that with me, it did end up being what contributed to my survival," he noted.
It's also great to have 'some basic understanding of first aid and how to render care for yourself - because at the end of the day, you are your first responder'.
'Wrong place at the wrong time'
Burke explained that the National Park Service (NPS) never tracked the grizzly down, although they did swab him for its DNA.
He concedes that he was simply 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' and that the bear was 'acting in a natural capacity', and so NPS is just going to 'let the bear be a bear', as it was just defending her cub from a perceived threat.
On trails where grizzlies are known to frequent, the NPS details what you should do if a brown bear starts attacking you.
It stresses: "Cover your head and neck with your hands and arms. Lay flat on your stomach, and spread your legs apart. Keep your pack on, it will help protect you during an attack.
"Stay still and don’t make any noise - you’re trying to convince the bear that you aren’t a threat to it or its cubs. Do not get up right away because the bear may still be in the area. Wait several minutes until you are sure that the bear is gone."
Although the guidance differs for bears acting in a predatory manner - in that case, it adds: "Fight back with everything you have."
Joe Yates